The investigator told officers that photographs were reportedly found on a WFISD iPad that had been assigned to a student. The photographs appeared to depict three male juveniles engaging in sexual acts on one another while in a classroom.

The incident, based on the date of the photographs, happened on Oct. 3.

The images were reportedly found on Oct. 25 by the student's home room teacher, who brought them to the attention of the school principal, Underwood.

An intake report was submitted by a parent of one of the involved students to CPS on Oct. 31.

Detectives met with Underwood about the incident. She confirmed it happened on Oct. 3 and she was notified on Oct. 25 by the teacher.

Underwood said she observed the images on the iPad, which had been assigned to one of the involved students. She identified all three male juveniles by name and said they were all 6 years old.

The principal described several of the sexual acts depicted in the images and said she could tell they were taken on a classroom rug while they were trying to cover themselves from being seen using a bean bag.

Underwood said she believed all three students took turns photographing each other, because they were all visible in the images.

She told detectives she made the decision to contact the parents of the students but didn't file a report with CPS.

As previously reported in the Times Record News, the Texas Family Code states "A professional may not delegate to or rely on another person to make the report."

It also defines a professional as "an individual who is licensed or certified by the state or who is an employee of a facility licensed, certified, or operated by the state and who, in the normal course of official duties has direct contact with children."

WFISD policy states that “any person who has cause to believe that a child has been or may be abused or neglected by any person shall make a report immediately as required by law.”

The district has an exhibit to the policy answering questions regarding the employee’s reporting duties.

The following statement is listed as the answer to the question "What are my legal responsibilities for reporting if I suspect that a child has been or may be abused or neglected?" in the WFISD's "Notice of Employee Responsibilities for Reporting Child Abuse and Neglect":

Anyone who suspects that a child has been or may be abused or neglected has a legal responsibility, under state law, for reporting the suspected abuse or neglect to law enforcement or to Child Protective Services (CPS).

Any District employee, agent, or contractor has an additional legal obligation to submit the oral or written report within 48 hours of learning of the facts giving rise to the suspicion.

An employee will make a report if the employee has cause to believe that an adult was a victim of abuse or neglect as a child and the employee determines in good faith that disclosure of the information is necessary to protect the health and safety of another child or an elderly or disabled person.

Underwood said she released the students to their parents and allowed them to go home.

The detective said, based on his training and experience, that the 6-year-old students should not have knowledge of the types of sexual acts depicted in the photographs unless they'd seen or experienced it – therefore making them possible victims of sexual abuse.

By allowing the students to go home, the detective believed Underwood placed them at risk for further possible sexual abuse happening.

A search warrant was obtained to retrieve the contents of the student's iPad. The detective viewed the images and confirmed there was explicit sexual contact between the victims while in the school classroom.

The three students were forensically interviewed at Patsy's House Child Advocacy Center and made disclosures consistent with the images.